Lichens Are The Way, a meditative lichen-centered film by Ondřej Vavrečka, will be competing in the NEW:VISION competition, while Limits of Europe, a new investigative documentary by Apolena Rychlíková, depicting what it is like to be a migrant worker in Western Europe, is selected for the F:ACT AWARD and the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD competition at the same time. The non-competitive HIGHLIGHTS section added I'm Not Everything I Want To Be by Klára Tasovská, continuing its journey around the festivals after the successful world premiere at this year's Berlinale. CPH:LAB, a development program that encourages creative risk-taking, hosts game/web-based chatbot Anamnesis by Petr Salaba, and a co-production platform CPH:FORUM showcases If Pigeons Turned To Gold, the upcoming feature debut by Pepa Lubojacki. More about the festival and its programme HERE.

Lichens Are The Way

NEW:VISION | World Premiere
dir. Ondřej Vavrečka

The latest film in the series of experimental/poetical documentary films by Ondřej Vavrečka (Personal Life of a Hole, De Potentia Dei) centers on lichens, offering an organic close-up study of radically different life forms, and of what happens when we turn our attention to beings outside our own scale. Shot in Canada, where lichenologist Trevor and his partner have created a home together in the symbiotic spirit of the subject of their studies. Produced by Vít Janeček of D1film.

Limits of Europe

F:ACT AWARD | HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD | World Premiere
dir. Apolena Rychlíková

A follow-up to Rychlíková's 2017 documentary film The Limits of Work, which depicted horrendous conditions in the worst-paid jobs in the Czech Republic through the first-hand experiences of journalist Saša Uhlová. In Limits of Europe, Uhlová leaves her family and sets out to experience what it is like to become a migrant worker, offering a revelatory exploration into the lives of people who are the pillars of Western European prosperity. Produced by Filip Remunda of HYPERMARKET FILM, the film has received support of 80 000 EUR from the Czech Film Fund in the production scheme.

I'm Not Everything I Want To Be

HIGHLIGHTS
dir. Klára Tasovská

Employing a rich montage of the images by photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková, including self-portraits that predate the “selfie” era, I’m Not Everything I Want to Be retraces the pivotal moments in Jarcovjáková's path from obscurity to recognition, offering an intimate glimpse into her evolving identity. Directed by award-winning documentarist Klára Tasovská, known for her features Fortress (2012) and Nothing Like Before (2017), the latter made in collaboration with Lukáš Kokeš, I’m Not Everything I Want to Be marks her solo directing debut. Produced by Kokeš and Tasovská for Somatic Films and co-produced by nutprodukcia (Slovakia) and Mischief Films (Austria).

Anamnesis

LAB 2023-2024 | World Premiere
game / web based chatbot
dir. Petr Salaba

This interactive AI simulation by director Petr Salaba known for This No Man's Land of Mine (2016) and llllllIIIIl (2017) tests empathy through dialogue, inspired by real-world medical training role-plays. Participants converse with an AI language model simulating an entity in distress, aiming to gently elicit its medical history using intuitive conversation. Unlike conventional patient encounters, these entities are not limited to human or veterinary patients. Produced by Petr Salaba & Ondřej Hrach.

If Pigeons Turned To Gold

CPH:FORUM | in development
dir. Pepa Lubojacki

The feature debut by Pepa Lubojacki (About-hair) follows three years in the lives of four relatives, contrasting a common childhood with a present fundamentally at odds. A mosaic-structured documentary, it charts the story of a quest for balance between love and hate, care and self-destruction, exploring the roots of addiction and the possibility of breaking with generational trauma. Produced by Wanda Kaprálová and Klára Mamojková of CLAW films and co-produced by Guča films (Slovakia), FAMU, and Česká televize. The film was supported by the Czech Film Fund for both development and production in the total amount of 67 200 EUR.